North Branch Potomac

We had a blast fishing the TU Top 100 rivers in Maryland: Big Gunpowder Falls, North Branch of the Potomac and the Savage. Who knew Maryland had such great trout streams. Given the proximity to DC, its really quite amazing that these streams don’t see even more pressure than they do. We sure seemed to have the rivers to ourselves a lot during our stay here. Please enjoy “Maryland Memories”, our video montage of our time in Maryland.

Our first stop was to fish the Big Gunpowder Falls river near Monkton, MD. Our base was the Backwater Angler fly shop. Make sure you stop in here and visit with Theaux Le Gardeur. He knows this river inside and out. He’s the “Riverkeeper” for the BGF river. He and the young guys in the shop do a tremendous job of giving you the flies and the river intel to have a great day on the water. He also hooked us up with Micah Dammeyer of Knee Deep Fly Fishing who guided us on an afternoon/evening of fishing. At 6’6″ Micah is never more than “Knee Deep” in any part of the BGF river. You can read his guide talk here.

Next stop was to fish the North Branch of the Potomac with Harold Harsh of Spring Creek Outfitter. We were in a small raft floating down rapids and fishing holes in between. Had a lot of fun and caught lots of beautiful rainbows along the Maryland/West Virginia border that the NB makes. Hear more from Harold’s interview here.

Our final stop in MD was on the Savage River. We had an absolute blast fishing this river and its tributaries. We caught many small brookies in the tribs that were gorgeous in color and spunky for their size. When we got on the Savage with Charlie Laffey and Mike Evans of Savage River Outfitters, we were treated to some amazing browns. Their size and fight were a real treat. We highly recommend this fishery and for sure heading to SRO for guiding, flies, tips and perhaps even a glass of wine by the river out back with Mike and his wife. Check out his interview on the banks of the Savage.

When we saw that the North Branch of the Potomac was on the list of the TU Top 100 Trout Streams, the context we had for it was based on our time in Washington DC. That part of the Potomac really didn’t seem to be fishable for trout. We were so surprised when we reached the banks of the North Branch at Barnum WV. A beautiful trout stream was flowing before us.

We jumped into a small fishing raft with Harold Harsh, owner of Spring Creek Outfitters. Harold has been fishing these waters for decades. He took us down the river and put us on some really nice fish. Barb was slaying them all day. Harold knows this river incredibly well and you will too when you fish the Harold Harsh (HH) Potomac as we did. For now, enjoy this interview with Harold as he discusses the ins and outs of fishing the NB.